Cranberry Broccoli Salad

My mother-in-law makes this for most holidays and I LOVE it..but I wanted it now and lower cal..soooo I improvised. This recipe was a collaboration of different sources with my personal spin on it. Enjoy!

Cranberry Broccoli Salad

Ingredients:

* 1 (12oz.) bag of broccoli slaw

* 1/2 yellow onion

* 4 slices of pre-cooked bacon, crumbled

* 1/3 cup craisens

* 1/4 cup slivered almonds

* 1/2 cup light whipped mayo (I used the Kroger brand of Miracle Whip Light)

* 1 packet of Truvia

* 3 Tbsp. Apple Cider Vinegar

Directions:

1. Combine first 5 ingredients in large bowl.

2. Mix the 1/2c. mayo, Truvia packet, and 3T. vinegar in a separate bowl. 

3. Pour over broccoli mix.

4. Toss and refrigerate overnight for best flavor.

Breakdown (1/5): 3WWPP

Zucchini Chips

Another zucchini recipe. (Soon to be followed by another!) This time I was looking for something to eat with my favorite dip. Chips are too many points, so I thought I would try this! They weren't half bad and definitely fulfilled my craving! The original recipe is from here.

Zucchini Chips

Ingredients:

* 1-2 Zucchinis

* Olive Oil Spray

* Seasoning

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 225.

2. Thinly slice both zucchinis and line a baking sheet with foil. Spray with olive oil spray and lay out zucchini chips. 

3. Lightly season (once the chips bake they will shrink and the seasons will be stronger). Lightly spray again with the olive oil spray and place in oven.

4. Bake 45 minutes, then rotate and bake again 30-40 minutes (or until crispy).

5. Eat immediately or within a couple hours to avoid sogginess.

Cucumber Salad

I make this all the time, especially during the summer. Usually I just place cucumbers in vinegar with a little water and herbs. I was looking for a recipe that was more 'sweet n sour' and this one definitely hit the spot! Of course I had to lighten it up and make it a 0 point side! Luckily it wasn't too hard!

Cucumber Salad

Ingredients:

* Cucumbers (sliced)

* 1c. apple cider vinegar

* 1/2c. water

* 2T. Truvia

* Salt/pepper/dill

Directions:

1. Pour water and vinegar in a small pot and bring to boil. Add 2T. Truvia and remove from heat.

2. Pour over cucumbers and stir. Add dill/salt/pepper. Cover and refrigerate. 

3. Let cool and serve.

HG Pretzel Chocolate Softies

I made these for my daddy for Father's Day! They were quite tasty and rather large for their point value. Yumm-y! You can find the regular recipe here.

HG Pretzel Chocolate Softies

Ingredients:

* 1/4 cup brown sugar (not packed)

* 2 Tbsp. Truvia

* 2 Tbsp. light buttery spread, room temperature

* 2 Tbsp. no-sugar-added applesauce

* 2 tbsp. egg substitute

* 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

* 1/3 cup whole-wheat flour

* 2 packets diet hot cocoa mix

* 1/4 tsp. baking powder

* 1/8 tsp. salt

* 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats

* 24 thin salted pretzel sticks, broken into very small pieces 

* 2 Tbsp. mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Cover a baking sheet and spray with nonstick spray.

2. In a medium bowl, thoroughly whisk 1/4c. brown sugar, 2T. truvia, 2T. butter, 2T. applesauce, 2T. egg substitute, and 1/4t. vanilla extract.

3. Add 1/4c. flour, 2 cocoa mix packets, 1/4t. baking powder, and 1/8t. salt, and stir until smooth. 

4. Mix in 1/2c. oats.

5. Spoon batter onto cookie sheet in 6 evenly spaced mounds. Spread and flatten into 3-inch circles. Sprinkle pretzel pieces over batter and gently pat to adhere.

6. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of a softie comes out clean, about 10 minutes. 

7. In a small microwave-safe bowl, microwave chocolate chips at 50% power for 1 minute. Stir and microwave at 50% power for 30 seconds; repeat, as needed, until melted.

8. Stir melted chocolate and drizzle over softies. Enjoy immediately or refrigerate until chocolate drizzle is firm! 

Breakdown (1/6): 3WWPP

135 cal

3.5g fat

197mg sodium

22.5g carbs

2g fiber

10.5g sugar

3g protein

Stuffed Zucchini

And a final zucchini recipe in my obsessive series of new zucchini recipes. This one I found on pinterest here. I tweaked it a bit to meet my needs. Enjoy! Brian gave it 4 out of 5 stars!

Stuffed Zucchini

Ingredients:

* 1 Tbsp. reduced fat sour cream (Mine had ranch seasonings)

* 1/4 tsp. salt

* 1/4 tsp. curry powder

* 1/2 tomato (chopped)

* 1 tsp. italian seasoning

* 2 zucchinis

* 1 onion (chopped)

* pepper

* 2 slices veggie bacon (optional..and you can use regular bacon)

* Parmesan (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400.

2. Scrub zucchinis, then split in half. Scoop out the insides and chop then place to the side.

3. Saute onion in olive oil spray until lightly browned. Add 1/4t. curry and cook an additional 30 seconds (NO MORE THAN 30). Transfer to a bowl.

4. Add veggie bacon, zucchini, tomato, 1T. sour cream, 1/4t. salt, 1t. italian seasoning, and pepper. Mix.

5. Lightly spray dish and spoon mix into zucchini boats. Lightly sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Bake about 20 minutes.

6. Put on the grill a couple minutes. and then you are done!

Zucchini Lasagna (lizzy original)

Zucchini is in season..so I had to give this recipe a try! I'm not a big fan of zucchini, but I thought if I sliced it thin enough it would be good..and I was right! I free-handed this recipe with help from other recipes. Here it is!

Zucchini Lasagna

Ingredients:

* 2 large zucchinis

* 1/2 cup egg substitute

* 1 (15oz.) container of Part Skim ricotta

* 2 1/2 cups part skim shredded mozzarella 

* 1/2 cup parmesan cheese

* 3 cups Prego Traditional sauce

* Mushrooms (optional)

Directions:

1. Broil each zucchini for 2-3 minutes.

2. Using a vegetable peeler, peel ribbons off of the zucchini and place in a long tray with salt to allow the zucchini to "cry". Once all the zucchini are ribboned, salt down and let sit at least 10 minutes. Blot with a paper towel to collect excess liquid. **This step is VERY important..even after doing this your lasagna will still be a bit watery, so blot as much as possible**

3. Meanwhile mix entire container of riccotta with 1/2c. egg sub, 2c. mozzarella, and 1/2c. parm cheese. 

4. Spread 1c. sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish.

5. Lay zucchini ribbons slightly overlapping over sauce.

6. Carefully spread 1/3 of cheese mixture over zucchini...topping with mushrooms. (I used my hands for this and kind of broke it up while laying it).

7. Spread 1/2c. sauce over cheese.

8. Repeat steps 5-7 twice.

9. Carefully lay a final layer of zucchini ribbons and top with 1/2c. sauce.

10. Sprinkly remaining 1/2c. cheese over top. Cover with foil and place in pre-heated oven (375). Bake 45 minutes covered, then remove foil and bake another 15 minutes.

11. Serve!

Breakdown (1/8): 7WWPP

Peach Cobbler, light

It's summer and I'm on a peaches kick! At the farmer's market the other day my sister and I split a $20 basket of peaches. I was blinded by their amazing aroma and didn't take into account that they would only really be good for a couple days....soooo I found a recipe for light peach cobbler! I tweaked it from it's original found here.

Light Peach Cobbler

Ingredients:

* 6 medium peaches, sliced

* 1 T. granulated sugar

* 2 T. Truvia

* 1 T. cornstarch

* 1 t. fresh lemon juice

* 1/2 t. ground cinnamon

* 1 cup flour

* 1 1/2 t. baking powder

* 1/2 t. salt

* 3 T. Reduced Cal Margarine

* 1/2 c. light vanilla soymilk

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Slice an 'x' in each peach. Carefully drop each peach into the boiling water and let boil 3-4 minutes or until skin starts to peal back from the 'x'.

2. Once the peaches are ready, remove and put in an ice bath for at least 10 minutes. Then gently peel away skin.

3. Slice peaches and combine in a saucepan with: 2T. truvia, 1T. cornstarch, 1t. lemon juice, 1/2t. cinnamon.  Toss to coat. 

4. Set pan to medium heat and bring to boil. Cook until mix thickens, about 1 minute.

5. Transfer peach mixture to a lightly greased 8x8 baking dish.

6. To make the topping combine 1c. flour, 1T. sugar, 1 1/2t. baking powder, and 1/2t. salt. Cut in 3T. Light margarine.

7. Add 1/2c. soymilk and mix until moistened.

8. Carefully plop onto peach mixture. 

9. Bake until topping is lightly browned and filling is bubbly, 20-25 minutes.

10. Slice and serve.

Serving size: 1/9: 3WWPP

Calories		101.8
Total Fat		1.9 g
	Saturated Fat	0.4 g
	Polyunsaturated Fat	1.0 g
	Monounsaturated Fat	0.9 g
Cholesterol		0.0 mg
Sodium		244.7 mg
Potassium		136.9 mg
Total Carbohydrate		21.4 g
	Dietary Fiber	1.6 g
	Sugars	1.7 g
Protein		2.1 g

Vitamin A	9.5 %
Vitamin B-12	2.8 %
Vitamin B-6	0.8 %
Vitamin C	6.8 %
Vitamin D	6.7 %
Vitamin E	6.9 %
Calcium	7.6 %
Copper	2.8 %
Folate	7.1 %
Iron	5.0 %
Magnesium	1.8 %
Manganese	7.1 %
Niacin	6.7 %
Pantothenic Acid	1.5 %
Phosphorus	3.8 %
Riboflavin	7.0 %
Selenium	7.1 %
Thiamin	7.9 %
Zinc	1.4 %

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.